Always-on Internet connection required to power the game's "living world".

We were told of the game's online requirement shortly after the game's reveal at Ubisoft's E3 press conference earlier today - as was Kotaku, it seems, whose report states The Crew requires an always-on internet connection to handle the game's "living world", regardless of whether you play on PS4, Xbox One or PC.

"Our approach to that is this is a living world," creative director Julian Gerighty told the site.

"We don't really see the point of offline. Did you ever play World of Warcraft? So World of Warcraft, you don't play offline. It doesn't mean you can't play by yourself—when I played World of Warcraft, I played it for about twelve months, single-player only, without talking to anyone. That's our approach."

If the Internet connection is lost during gameplay, players will not be able to save their game.

"All our saves are server-based,” continued Gerighty, "it's one of those things that this new generation… it's just like World of Warcraft. If the internet connection goes on World of Warcraft, that's it, your saved game goes. It's one of the unfortunate side-effects, but I think [we're] going to a world where the experiences demand that."

The Crew joins a growing list of next-gen titles which require an always-online Internet connection, which also includes Bungie’s upcoming shooter Destiny.

The first details on Ubisoft Reflections' latest racer were announced during Ubisoft's E3 press conference earlier today.